I make mine from the as pure a source as I can get it or make it. I base mine of Kg's as base ten makes ratios really nice to work with. I've read here that a few folks like to experiment with "McGivering" their product. I think this is great and would be proud to hear of your stories. What I'm interested in is how do you do your ratios? If your KNO is a liquid and has other ingredients and your sulfur is a solid with other stuff, how are you figuring your ratios? I was watching a survival show and thought If I can make fire from my shoestrings I'd like to know that I could make BP from... my local hardware store.
How do you make your BP?
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dickydalton
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Go to Brushhippie's videos on You Tube or go to Gunslingers Gulch Forum and you will get the best info on making the Black. They make it better by corning it.
ofitg
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That's interesting - Now you got my curiosity going, I think I'll buy stump remover on my next visit to the hardware store, just to see what's inside the bottle.
FWIW, Ulrich Bretscher experimented with different powder formulations - check out the "three-dimensional" graph in the center of this page -
http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/recipe.html
It doesn't seem to matter much if the proportions are juggled a few percent one way or the other, there's plenty of "wiggle room" at the top of that energy plateau.
elhombreconnonombre
Member
Only Spectracide "stump remover" is near pure "nitre", but that will result in bp that has a diy cost of $8/lb or more. You can get the d.I.y. cost down to a little over $2/lb, if you find a good source of "nitre" granular fertilizer.
Loyalist Dave
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You should know that original gunpowder is charcoal and salt peter, and the sulfur that is added lowers the ignition point to where a cap or spark from a flint or a burning slow match will ignite it more easily.
You can buy KNO3 on eBay, as well as sulfur and charcoal. Some folks don't like to do that because they think they are then marked by the government.
Most of the DIY folks that I know use a ball-mill...well they use a rock polisher, and buy antimony balls found on the internet to turn it into a mill (antimony is hard but doesn't spark
), and mill the ingredients very fine. Many start with a double-drum polisher from Harbor Freight.
One fellow I know mills the ingredients over several days. He uses 10 parts KNO3, 2 parts charcoal, and 1½ parts sulfur...or as he does it...he uses a ¼ cup scoop as one would when baking, and does 10 level scoops of milled salt peter, 2 level scoops of milled charcoal, and 1 level scoop of sulfur PLUS two level tablespoons. It seems to work very well.
That's very similar to a basic formula found at Ulrich Bretscher's Black Powder Page
LD
You can buy KNO3 on eBay, as well as sulfur and charcoal. Some folks don't like to do that because they think they are then marked by the government.
Most of the DIY folks that I know use a ball-mill...well they use a rock polisher, and buy antimony balls found on the internet to turn it into a mill (antimony is hard but doesn't spark
), and mill the ingredients very fine. Many start with a double-drum polisher from Harbor Freight. One fellow I know mills the ingredients over several days. He uses 10 parts KNO3, 2 parts charcoal, and 1½ parts sulfur...or as he does it...he uses a ¼ cup scoop as one would when baking, and does 10 level scoops of milled salt peter, 2 level scoops of milled charcoal, and 1 level scoop of sulfur PLUS two level tablespoons. It seems to work very well.
That's very similar to a basic formula found at Ulrich Bretscher's Black Powder Page
LD
Caliper_Mi
Member
buy antimony balls found on the internet to turn it into a mill (antimony is hard but doesn't spark
I like this idea.
I've been using lead balls to grind my charcoal (just happened to have them on hand
) But, after a lot of tumbling, I looked at them and it seems they have shrunk in diameter? Has anyone else used plain soft lead balls for milling? Have you observed the balls shrinking over time? I'm worried that I'm introducing lead dust into my BP, which really isn't a cool thing...
brushhippie
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I have been looking for something to replace the lead balls in my mill....I am rather sure over time they are shrinking...just make sure you do not breathe the dust or get the dust on your hands...cannot see it hurting anything otherwise.
Caliper_Mi
Member
I'm always careful with the charcoal dust. That is some of the messiest stuff I've never seen!
I'm more concerned about the powder smoke when it is burned in the barrel. Exposing other people, plus I like the smell of BP. Smells like... Freedom.
Ya ever write something and think ya got it spot on only to find you have no literary skills? I would like to try to clarify my post, thank you in advance for putting up with me. I believe I am rather accomplished at the science and art of BP manufacturing. I have specific ball mills and seasoned Willow specifically designed for the charcoal and several others for the BP. I cast my own balls with an alloy receipt that makes them quite dense, though not quite as dense as myself - according to my wife. I have several corning presses and grinders. I believe my BP can beat up your BP. I thoroughly enjoy the information and folks here. For this post, kudos to Brushhippie. I believe my ingredients and methods are quite refined. BUT! If you were to make BP as if in a scavenger hunt or survival situation, what would you use and how would you regulate your ratios in respect the "other ingredients" found in your classic mix?
brushhippie
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Well...that is a good question....here in the Ozarks...in a survival mode situation...I would be hard pressed, I would say, to find sulfer...but as it is well known you can make powder without it. KNO3 could be easily harvested from my composted materials and black willow grows all over along the creek...so those two I would not have a problem wit.... as to the ratios....I have not really given it thought...75/25 is what I think I would start with just off the top of my head. We do have alot of wells around with sulfer water so it may be something one could find...I will have to explore that! Thanks for getting me thinking.
ofitg
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See Bretscher's graph - If your KNO3 is 95% pure, and your sulfur is 90% pure, the "standard" proportions of 75-15-10 would actually work out to 71.25-15-9 with another 4.75% in impurities.
Multiply all variables by 1.4 to arrive at 100 parts of KNO3, per Bretscher's graph. 21 parts of charcoal and 12.6 parts of sulfur are still well inside the dark blue "energy plateau". The proportions of the "active ingredients" are not too critical.
The quality of charcoal and the method of preparation will probably have the greatest effect.
Multiply all variables by 1.4 to arrive at 100 parts of KNO3, per Bretscher's graph. 21 parts of charcoal and 12.6 parts of sulfur are still well inside the dark blue "energy plateau". The proportions of the "active ingredients" are not too critical.
The quality of charcoal and the method of preparation will probably have the greatest effect.
ofitg I think your spot on. For anyone following this insanity, [brushhippie], what do you think about crushing iron pyrite for the sulfur? Seems like it might not only work but make for a fine evening showing? Low grade coal can be washed or burnt and scrub the emissions. Both coast and any dead volcano would work. Where did sulfur come from in the hay day's of BP manufacturing in North America?
dbmjr1
Member
Y'all are way ahead of me.
I made my first batch using Stump Remover, Sulfur from the Garden Store, and hardwood charcoal for grilling.
It Works. Shot the cannon on the Fourth, and the report was fantastic.
I did use a lot of wadding, and the way it lit, had I not, it might not have gone boom. But once it got going, it was satisfying.
I'm going to cut some Willow, and try to make my own charcoal next.
Just used a recipe off the web.
I'd imagine y'alls stuff lights a lot faster, but this just serves proof that even a novice can make BP with commonly available materials.
I made my first batch using Stump Remover, Sulfur from the Garden Store, and hardwood charcoal for grilling.
It Works. Shot the cannon on the Fourth, and the report was fantastic.
I did use a lot of wadding, and the way it lit, had I not, it might not have gone boom. But once it got going, it was satisfying.
I'm going to cut some Willow, and try to make my own charcoal next.
Just used a recipe off the web.
I'd imagine y'alls stuff lights a lot faster, but this just serves proof that even a novice can make BP with commonly available materials.
kBob
Member
I do not know how to do it but there was a magazine article some years back in Backwoods home or some such about extracting Sulfer from gypsim board dry wall.
Also how to extract Salt Peter from compost.
You guys really need to listen to Leslie Fish's Filk song "Black Powder and Alcohol"
I recommend the "Sarah O'Connor" posting on You Tube.
-kBob
Also how to extract Salt Peter from compost.
You guys really need to listen to Leslie Fish's Filk song "Black Powder and Alcohol"
I recommend the "Sarah O'Connor" posting on You Tube.
-kBob
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Those two cylinder rock polishers from Harbor Freight and ebay are great for milling black powder and its components, however. There is also an optimum RPM involved in which they should rotate for the best results. The Harbor Freight/ebay models do not rotate at this preferred speed. I don't know the science behind proper speed, but it is what it is... for some reason. The link below will show you how to easily modify these mills for optimum performance.
http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to/ball-mill.asp
http://www.skylighter.com/fireworks/how-to/ball-mill.asp
elhombreconnonombre
Member
How it was done in central Texas in 1863 for the confederacy.
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM89TB_Andersons_Mill
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM89TB_Andersons_Mill
Officers'Wife
Member
We use stainless steel ball bearings for milling charcoal. Battery lead cast to .75 ball for milling the powder itself. With the gearing on the wind turbine it's running an average of about 200 rpm and I haven't noticed any "shrinkage" on the lead balls. Neither have I "mic'ed" either.I like this idea.
I've been using lead balls to grind my charcoal (just happened to have them on hand
As for charcoal mess, a certain unnamed idiot that shall remain my brother has come up with a one way valve sort of deal that allows the charcoal to be damped without open the vessel. That reduces the dust problem quite well.
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